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Studio Art Director

Welcome to Bossa! We’re an immensely talented, daring, multicultural team of individuals (or as we like to call ourselves - Bossians!), who create extraordinary games that millions of people love, play and share every day.

Chances are, you know us as that quirky, BAFTA-winning studio behind several critically acclaimed hits, many of which have become an integral part of gaming culture (Shhh… I doctor now!). These include Surgeon Simulator, I Am Bread, Hogwash, Monstermind, and the yet to be launched I Am Fish.

At the heart of Bossa’s unique way of working - whether that’s ideation, development or even marketing - is a genuine passion for connecting through humour, amongst our teams, with our players, and with all the influencers and creators around the world who regularly play Bossa games to their audiences.

We create together. We laugh together. We innovate together. We believe that’s the only way to build legacy and games that are truly fun and relevant to people’s lives.

So, are you ready to become part of our movement? Are you ready to be challenged to take your creativity to the next level? Are you ready to join Bossa and aid us in our ongoing pursuit to make millions of people happier every day?

If so, we might just have the perfect role for you..

The Role

Bossa Studios is recognised as one of the most creative game studios in the world, at times spawning entire new genres through our unique creative process involving all members of the team in monthly game jams. This is just one part of the puzzle, though -- we're still hard at work to become a better version of ourselves.

As part of our journey towards becoming one of the most successful video games makers, we're evolving and maturing our approach to art, and are now seeking some of the best professionals in the industry to lead our artistic vision and art teams.

While you'll find our early steps towards artistic excellence in recent games such as I Am Fish, this is just the beginning: our goal is to make games that look and feel like no other, making players fall in love with them at first glance. This is where our new art leadership role comes in.

We are currently looking for a Studio Art Director that can help drive the artistic vision for our games, set the benchmark for visual quality and style, and coach and inspire the team to reach the levels of award-winning excellence.

You will be an experienced manager of people and know-how to build, grow and inspire a team of talented artists.

Responsibilities:

• Provide excellent artistic leadership and judgement, and work with lead artists to help set and execute the artistic vision for our games.
• Set a clear benchmark for our art teams that will help our games achieve award-winning visual quality.
• Build strong relationships, and work with our creative teams (Game Design, Product etc.) to ensure the game art influences and enhances the player experience.
• Be a force multiplier for the art team – helping to mentor, coach, stretch and inspire them to reach the expected artistic standards in terms of style and quality.
• Manage the studio’s art team; including hiring, career path development, performance and pay reviews etc.
• Create a learning environment in which the art team members can evolve and share best practices.
• Oversee and manage how the art team is allocated to different projects – ensuring decisions are in line with the studios priorities.
• Support (alongside Lead/Senior Artists and Producers) our relationships with art outsourcers, including due diligence and approvals of deliverables.
• Work closely with other key stakeholders (Product, Marketing, Publishing etc.) in the business to ensure art style and content choices are in alignment with commercial goals.
• Be an ambassador for the art quality in each of our games, and for the art team itself within the studio.
• Be a part of the Senior Management team, helping to collectively contribute towards the studios creative strategy and future.

Requirements

• A proven track record and significant experience as an Art Director on distinctively looking games.
• Experience in overseeing the vision, creative direction and artistic quality of a game.
• Able to demonstrate excellent artistic judgement and instinct.
• The ability to oversee and influence the vision and style of multiple games in development.
• A deep understanding of the fundamentals of art, how it can create emotion, tell stories and influence player decisions, including but not limited to colour theory, shape language and lighting.
• A proven ability to work closely with Game Design and Product teams, helping to ensure the game's art is a key part of the player experience.
• An in-depth understanding of art outsourcing pipelines, and technical constraints for different technologies and game engines.
• Proven commercial and critical success.
• Proven experience in building, leading and coaching world-class art teams.
• An in-depth understanding of industry-standard career paths, and able to apply that knowledge to the development of the art team.
• A strong communicator, able to articulate abstract ideas in a concise way.
• Able to collaborate, build alignment, and have good relationships with key stakeholders across the company.
• A natural problem solver, with a fascination for finding new and better approaches to problems.
• Able to work in a fast-paced environment, with a high degree of change.
• Comfortable challenging and representing at a senior level to ensure the importance of art within our games is represented.
• Able to contribute and work collectively with a senior management team, and represent art at a strategic level that is aligned with the studio's goals.

Portfolio submission (required):

• Examples of personal and professional artwork.
• Examples demonstrating your workflow from concept to creation.
• Examples of work you have directed, but did not create.
• Examples of style guides for projects you have worked on

Benefits

• Annual Holiday Allowance - 22 days, to increase 1 day after every year up to a maximum of 25 days. We also shut between Christmas & New Year on top of that allowance, to make sure everyone has a real break.
• Private Medical Insurance – Provided by Vitality
• Life Assurance – Tax free lump sum payment of 4 x annual salary
• Pension Scheme – We match up to 5%
• EMI Share Scheme - Generous lump sum of shares awarded upon joining which will vest over a 4 year period
• Flexible Working - Bossians now have the ability to work from home permanently if they'd prefer, and for those who still want that office environment the office is open and ready for them
• Supportive family policies - 6 months fully paid maternity leave and 3 months fully paid paternity leave
• Employee Assistance Programme - 24/7 Helpline
• Cyclescheme - up to £1,000 loan deducted from monthly salary over 12 month period
• Discounted gym membership
• Travel to Work Loan – Loan deducted from monthly salary over 10 or 12 month period
• Food - For those who wish to go in, free snacks, fruit and drinks in the office
• Social Events - We have fantastic company culture and loads of fun social events, lots of which are now happening digitally.